It would be easy to believe that it was the US inauguration that had made us sit up and pay attention to poetry again. But while there’s no question Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb offered a major cultural moment, she didn’t start the wave. Back in 2019, sales of poetry books hit an all-time high. And the biggest consumers? Women under 34.
Frankly, I’m not surprised. Poetry is a great way of exploring complicated emotions and, as we all navigate the hellscape our timelines have become, filled with news of death, disaster and racism, poetry is an escape, even if just for a moment. Instagram has also made it more accessible than ever to share, read and explore prose.
Ready to get back into poetry? Here are a few of our favourites.
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